Darkness Below
by RixSkywalker1405
Summary: A sudden reveal of feelings in need of concealment drives the group apart. An attempt to heal this rift plummets as the darkness engulfs everything... Advanceshipping, one-shot.


**Well it has been quite a while since I wrote an Advanceshipping story, so I came up with Darkness Below. The main inspiration came from one of my many favourite books but the major detail is all my brainstorming. Enjoy!**

 **I don't own Pokémon.**

 ** _DARKNESS BELOW_**

"There's only one minute on the clock! This is the final lap, ladies and gentlemen, for both our contestants!"

THUMP-THUMP!

"And our contestants have just hit the 30 second mark! But their determination to win has just increased tenfold!"

THUMP-THUMP!

"Ten seconds!"

THUMP-THUMP!

"Five seconds!"

THUMP-THUMP!

"One second!"

THUMP-THUMP!

Ring-Ring!

"That's the end of the contest! And the winner is-"

THUMP-THUMP!

"I don't believe it! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A TIE!"

THUMP-THUMP!

"Ash and May are our Terracotta Contest winners! Please give them a big round of applause for a wonderful performance!"

Ash slowly exhaled, hardly believing the outcome. The last minute seemed to be the longest of the entire contest, while also being the most strenuous. It was a shame he hadn't won, but considering the type disadvantage he was at, he was fine with a tie. For a beginner in contests, he was pleased with his performance.

On the other side he spotted May, panting just as hard as he was but just as ecstatic. A tie was a reasonable compromise for the two of them. He could feel excitement being radiated from her, even across the battlefield.

The duo slowly made their way to the stage where MC Lillian would present them with the prize: The Terracotta Contest ribbon.

As they reached the huge stage where coordinators displayed their prowess with Pokémon, Lillian informed them of a rather embarrassing situation.

"We never anticipated having two winners, so we can present just one ribbon," she said sheepishly.

May on the other hand was quick to respond. "Don't worry about that. Just hand Ash the ribbon."

Ash didn't even need to exchange words with her. He knew what she was thinking, as if it was the most natural thing ever. Just as he was handed the ribbon, he looked into May's eyes for confirmation.

A nod was all he received. With that, he tossed the ribbon into the air.

"Sceptile, leaf blade!"

Sceptile quickly jumped into the air before slashing the ribbon with the blades that extended from his arms.

The ribbon split into two. One half fell into Ash's hands, the other in May's.

"Oh what wonderful friends! Ladies and gentlemen-" Lillian announced.

Raising both May's and Ash's hand, she continued. "OUR WINNNERS!"

As Ash had his hand raised, he couldn't help but notice the look of glee on May's face. Feelings welled in his heart as he stared fondly at her.

He was in love with her.

And he had to let her know.

 _The next day…_

Ash sat on bench, not far from the Contest Hall in which he had participated recently, staring into the sky. May seemed to be constantly on his mind, amplified by the recent Terracotta Contest.

He had made attempts to get closer to the girl, like trying to sit next to her and depending on her at every opportunity and it seemed as if she didn't notice, to which Ash had conflicting thoughts. He was grateful because her noticing would've made things awkward around the two of them but her obliviousness to his hints either meant she didn't know about his feelings or worse, didn't care and was indifferent.

The very thought of this made him sigh depressingly.

"Ash!"

His train of thought was shattered as he heard his name being called. He looked up to find May jogging lightly towards him, slightly out of breath.

"I thought I'd find you here," she said, panting once she reached him.

Ash smiled. Taking a look at the scene in front of him, he said dreamily, "What can I say? This scene is extremely relaxing. I can feel all my troubles just melting away…"

This comment made May giggle a little. "I never knew Ash Ketchum to have any troubles," she teased.

Ash's lips curved into a small smile. "Hey, there's no room for sarcasm here," he said, punching her arm lightly.

May continued to giggle at his response. Taking a seat beside him, she took a deep breath before enjoying the scene that lay in front of them.

There was a fountain on the square, in the shape of a triangle. There were busts of Registeel, Regirock and Regice at each vertex, each sculpted to an amazing degree of accuracy. People and pokémon alike were bustling about with their daily lives around the fountain, with some bumping into each other, apologising and carrying on as though nothing happened. A little past the fountain was the pathway to the Terracotta Contest Hall, boasting as the tallest building in the vicinity. Beyond it was the deep blue sky with the sun shining brightly to those that roamed the locality.

It truly was a sight to behold.

"I can see what you enjoy this scene," May said finally.

Ash simply nodded, closing his eyes and concentrating at the sounds that reverberated in his ears.

And for a few minutes, there was silence before May began speaking again.

"As much as I enjoy the scene, I must confess, I came here for a different reason," she said.

Ash, lazily, still kept his eyes closed. "Oh? And what would that be?"

May seems hesitant to respond, trying to choose her words carefully. But then, all of a sudden, she threw all caution out of the window.

"I know you like me."

Ash's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, which would seem impossible considering he had his eyelids shut tight. A big blush overtook his face as his heartbeat began beating from slow and steady to fast and irrational. He wasn't sure how to respond and decided to test the waters by staying silent.

May had a small smile on her face seeing Ash's reactions. "You're sweet, Ash. You and I are great friends. Best, even!"

Saying this she turned and looked into Ash's eyes, trying to gauge his mood. His face was expressionless but his eyes had a different story. There was a look of hope in them.

"I'm sorry, Ash, but I think we're meant to be just friends."

Ash gaze instantly hardened at those words as he looked away from May's eyes, hope translating into hurt. He swallowed, trying to make the growing pain around his heart flow away. Rising from his seat, he dusted himself before looking at May once more with what he believed was a genuine smile.

"I…I understand, May. I-I hope I didn't…didn't bother you too-too much," he stammered, trying to blink his tears away.

May knew the best option was to just let him be alone. She watched him walk away rather dejectedly from the bench.

"I'm sorry, I had to do this," she whispered to herself.

 _A few days later…_

Since their fateful encounter by the square, Ash's demeanour had considerably changed and for the worse at that. He never spoke a word to anyone since that day, whether it was asking him if he was doing alright, if he was hungry or even small talk. His travelling companions were just able to worm a simple nod or a shake of head when questions were directed to him. It was as if words were somehow non-existent to him.

But how did Ash battle then?

Ash had somehow managed to master the technique of giving commands to his Pokémon without having to speak, just like the Frontier Brain, Anabel. This was rather convenient for him because now he could completely shut down his vocal cords.

His friends feared that the usually happy-go-lucky, stubborn yet determined trainer had become a shell of his former self.

While Max was oblivious to reasons for Ash's enclosure to himself, Brock had been slightly more analytical of the situation. He reasoned that May was the cause for Ash's silence, considering that she was the last person he spoke to and the fact that the two trainers were closer to each other than everyone else in the group.

And when confronting May, Brock saw everything. Confusion, encompassing something.

Regret and a tinge of guilt.

At that moment, he knew he had to be the person to set things straight. Keeping this in mind, he hatched a sneaky little plan with Max.

Ash and May, together yet alone. What a sneaky devil.

"There's a famous cave, right around the corner, that we should definitely visit. It is a must-see for all travellers who are in the vicinity in this area," Brock announced to the group after consulting his map.

This statement received mixed opinions; Ash being indifferent, May raising her eyebrows while Max smiled knowingly.

"What's so exciting about a cave?" May asked.

"Find out for yourself. C'mon Max! I want to catch some rock-type Pokémon," Brock said, while running ahead with Max, leaving her in the dust.

May simply sighed at their immature behaviour. This left her with…Ash.

Somehow, May felt that they planned this on purpose.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me-"

May was interrupted by Ash who began moving for the cave as though nothing had happened. She shook her head sadly and began following him into the cave.

 _A few hours later…_

"Ash, I'm hungry!"

Silence.

"Ash, I'm tired!"

Yet more silence.

"Ash, I want to exit!"

Silence continues.

"Ash, I love you!"

This received a sigh from the raven-haired trainer. That was the millionth time May had said those sentences. He felt as if he was walking with a broken tape recorder, an annoying one at that.

"Ash, I'm-oof!"

Ash brought his index finger onto her lips and shook his head while grunting, signalling her to stay quiet for a while.

May complied, much to his happiness, as the two of them tried to find an exit to the stupidly 'famous' cave. The two of them (well May mostly, Ash simply nodded) had already established that this was a ploy by Brock and Max to get them on better terms. Turns out that their 'famous' cave was just a rather elaborate labyrinth. And rather intricate at that because it made her head spin.

However, Brock had been correct in assuming that May would break Ash's emotional shell. Although he didn't speak complete words, May was able to get Ash to sigh and grunt once in a while, a major improvement from the past few days.

 _"_ _Ash please speak again. For me at least-"_ May thought as she was interrupted by their sudden arrival in a room that they hadn't come across earlier.

It was a large, circular room, with…literally nothing. The walls had the same black stone glazing it as the rest of the cave (just looking at it made May nauseous), but other than it being a dead end, there was nothing special about it. The only remotely interesting aspect about it was the design all over, replicating cracks.

As May took a step, she heard the sound of plastic crinkling and felt something on her shoes. She removed the plastic, cringing slightly as she cursed the poor lighting, and frowned as she identified it.

"Tape," she whispered. "Why? A gag of sorts?"

Saying this, she tossed the tape back onto the path where it belonged.

Unfortunately, she never noticed a broken board near the crumpled tape, with the words, "CAUTION: WEAK FOUNDATION!"

"There's…literally nothing here. Ash, let's try to find the exit," May said, feeling something off about the room.

Ash didn't reply, for obvious reasons, and moved into the room.

"Ash, I have a bad feeling about this…"

Ash still did not acknowledge her and continued walking to the other end of the room.

"Ash?"

Still no reply or nod, as the raven-haired trainer examined something on the other end rather closely.

"Fine, I guess we'll be here for a while," May gave up.

She slowly began taking note of her surroundings, especially the cracks. Suddenly, May felt as if it wasn't a design aspect as she surveyed the cracks. They all emanated from the single spot that Ash was standing on.

And in a flash, the cracks, the tape…it all made sense to her.

Ash was the lynchpin.

"Ash," she warned, her voice rising in pitch from fear. "Get away quickly! You're standing on the stress point! This room is not very strong-"

May was cut off by the sudden groaning and rumbling behind the walls and the floor. Sensing danger, she quickly ran to grab the other trainer and get him to safety.

But as she grabbed his hand, the whole floor abruptly gave way. And the two of them were caught with it.

Just as the floor gave way, May was lucky enough to have grabbed one of the ledges on their one-way trip to Arceus. So far, adrenaline was guiding her every action but she wasn't sure how long this boost would last. Hopefully, long enough.

After ensuring that they were safe (as safe as possible), May reviewed her current predicament. She was grabbing the ledge with one hand, Ash with other. Releasing her grip on one hand was not an option. Both Ash's and her pokéballs fell into the pit below and being unable to see the bottom, she wasn't sure if they were okay. That left external help, from Brock and Max or the people working on the construction. It could hours for them to find her and she wasn't sure if she had the physical stamina to hold the ledge and Ash at the same time for so long.

"M…May," came a weak, raspy voice.

May's eyes widened as she heard it. Ash had finally spoken to her after so long.

"May," he said a lot more forcefully and began coughing a little. His voice was very raw and scratchy but it made May's heart flutter.

"May, just let me go. You still have a chance to survive then," he coughed.

Here he was, being utterly selfless again. Didn't self-preservation exist in his dictionary?

"No! Stop being the hero! We're here and it's all my fault and I would've dropped myself and you don't deserve this-" she rambled.

Suddenly, the ledge which she had grabbed cracked and broke. May was lucky enough to have grabbed another ledge on their way down but the force of Ash's and her weight had put a considerable strain on her arm.

"May, save yourself! Just let me go, get washed away with all the pain…" Ash croaked.

May looked down at him and Ash hoped that she was seriously considering it. After all, it was the lesser of the two evils. He then heard her sigh and without warning, she released her grip.

Ash was feeling rather lightheaded as he fell down. He wasn't sure how deep the hole was, considering that he never heard the sound of big rocks hitting the bottom, or how long it would take to fall to the bottom. It was a real shame that his pokéballs fell, he really wished that the Pokémon were fine. Even if they were doomed to fall, he would've wanted it to be together, like a family.

He was really going to miss everyone.

As he fell, he felt May grabbing him all of a sudden and embracing him as they fell into their inevitable doom.

"I love you," she whispered to him.

Ash returned the embrace, as the two trainers plummeted into the darkness below.

 **Dark, dark stuff right there. Sorry if I took too long write an Advanceshipping story, I got plenty of PM's reminding me of this, so I hope you enjoyed this.**

 **Now I realize that I left out Pikachu which was kinda necessary for the story but my sincere apologies. I may have also messed up the timeline of events but once again, that was necessary for the story and my apologies for breaking it.**

 **So, I hope that you enjoyed this not-so-little on-shot! Leave me review or a PM on your thoughts!**

 **That's RixSkywalker1405 out!**


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